In SEC title game, Jarvis Jones wants to have another 'monster' day

Friday

Win or lose, Jarvis Jones is bound to be a forceful presence in Saturday's duel for the Southeastern Conference championship.

The outside linebacker seems to have a knack for thriving when it matters most: on a national stage, against a ranked opponent and with much more than just a win on the line.

Two of Georgia's pivotal matchups this year came against Missouri and Florida - both contests that the Bulldogs went in to facing adversity.

Then-No. 7 Georgia was a mere two-point favorite over unranked Missouri, largely due to the secondary attrition and the weak defensive output against the Buffalo run attack a week earlier. Heading into its rivalry game against Florida in Jacksonville, the Bulldogs were coming off a narrow win over Kentucky, which went on to a 2-10 season. Any shot of getting back into the national title race would require a win over the archrival Gators.

In both matchups, Jones posted a combined 22 tackles (6.5 for loss), four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception and five sacks.

His production on big stages, Georgia coach Mark Richt said, is a major reason Jones is nominated for numerous of national awards.

"That's what helped him the most, is that he has played really big in big games," Richt said. "In the Missouri game, he just had a monster stat day, and the Florida game was almost a whole season in one game, as far as statistics go. Plus, he already had a reputation of being a really good football player."

That's because of his performance a season ago, where comparable to this year, Jones was no stranger in big games.

In his first two outings with Georgia, Jones finished second in team tackles (17 total) against then-No. 2 Boise State and then-No. 12 South Carolina.

But it was seven weeks later against Florida when Jones had the breakout performance that garnered the national attention that has been glued to him since. Jones was a ball hawk in Jacksonville, evidenced by his four tackles for loss, four sacks and four quarterback hurries.

Georgia fans are hoping that Jones will have a comparable performance today. Alabama will pose the biggest offensive threat the Bulldogs have seen thus far, ranking second in scoring in the SEC to only Texas A&M.

"It's going to be a challenge for us," Jones said. "They're huge and very physical (and have) guys that are passionate about this game. It's going to be a battle."

Jones attributes a large portion of the Crimson Tide's success to quarterback AJ McCarron, who has thrown only two interceptions and 25 of Alabama's 61 touchdowns.

McCarron leads Alabama's pro-style offense, a scheme that Georgia hasn't faced in a few weeks because of its latest opposition. Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech both employ a triple-option offense and have rushed for 608 yards on the Bulldogs over the past two weeks.

Jones has enjoyed the preparation for Alabama because Georgia is back to defending "grown man football."

"When you start playing teams like Georgia Tech or somebody that's going to hide the ball from you, I don't like stuff like that," Jones said. "Men play football, and that's what we do, we line up and hit each other in the mouth."

JONES-ING

In two seasons with the Bulldogs, Jarvis Jones has had an undeniable affect on the defense, including two huge games this season that gave the Bulldogs the push they needed against Missouri and Florida. Here are his numbers over two seasons:

Tackles: 141

Tackles for loss: 39

Sacks: 24

Forced fumbles: 8

Fumble recoveries: 2

QB hurries: 79

Pass breakups: 4

Interceptions: 1

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